Meet the candidates running for APA’s 2028 president

Member nominations are in. Following are the president-elect candidates. Read on for more information on each candidate’s experience and priorities. Find additional information on the candidates on the President-Elect Ballot by scanning the QR code at left or by visiting MyAPA. The winning psychologist will serve as APA’s 2026 president-elect and 2028 president.

Psychology can be the key to solving society’s most enduring challenges. To unlock our potential, we must move past the era of silos and into an era of collective impact. As a unifying force, my platform is built on the unwavering belief in what APA CAN DO together to empower all psychologists.

Together, we will show the WORLD and LOCAL COMMUNITIES what APA CAN DO in the fight for human rights. We have a common enemy, and it’s not each other: It’s systemic intersectional oppression. We will use our science and skills to identify these systems and resulting wounds, work toward eradicating them, and collaboratively build something better.

Together, we will show PRACTITIONERS and SCIENTISTS what APA CAN DO to illustrate their work is interdependent and indispensable. We will advocate with insurance companies for fair reimbursement policies that support the sustainability of psychological practice, and we won’t stand down while research funding is eliminated. We will connect leading psychologists from science and practice with media experts to replace public mis/disinformation with our timely, peer-reviewed and clinical experience-based evidence.

Together, we will show STUDENTS and ECPs how APA CAN pass the baton into their capable hands. We will address limitations in training and mentorship, modernizing it so they are prepared to pursue imaginative and fulfilling psychology careers in both emerging and traditional arenas.

Across states, provinces, and territories, our communities are calling on us to improve mental health where they need it most.

Across the career life span, whether you are a researcher, educator, clinician, consultant, trainee, entrepreneur, or administrator, you have a critical role in this moment.

Drawing on my leadership experience at the student (American Psychological Association of Graduate Students), state (Kentucky Psychological Association), Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology), university, Council of Representatives, and APA Board of Directors levels, I am well prepared to work together.

Let’s realize psychology’s potential and show what APA + CAN DO.

I’m running for APA president-elect to ensure the concerns of everyday psychologists—across practice, research, academia, consulting, public service, and among our students—are not just heard but fought for.

Fellow psychologists: Worried about declining reimbursement, scope of practice, insurance hassles, job insecurity, educational costs, your cash-pay practice, consulting effectively, or research funding? You deserve a president who will fight for your professional and economic success. Better reimbursement serves the public by expanding access to timely, qualified care.

We need to:

• Educate a public that too often does not understand who we are or the value we bring.
• Fight for fair reimbursement, time-free CPT codes, access to extenders, and fair insurance practices.
• Advocate for reliable research funding.
• Support doctoral students who may want market-relevant training in areas like law, technology, business, prescribing, and administration alongside their psychology training, without extending time in school.
• Allow psychologists, like physicians, to graduate before internship and participate more fully in Medicare-reimbursable care during training.

For our communities: SPTAs and divisions deserve a stronger voice, deeper respect, genuine collaboration with national leadership, and the financial footing to do the work that matters. Let’s identify promising state legislation and apply those models nationally and in other states. We also need to draw on the content expertise our divisions offer.

Leading with science: Science is how we earn trust, drive change, and show why psychology matters. We must make more practice-relevant, clinically useful science accessible to providers.

Uniting for impact: We do not have to agree on everything. We do need mutual respect, serious listening, and a shared commitment to psychology’s future.

If not now, when?

Psychology stands at a pivotal moment with many of the most pressing challenges arising not from within our field but from powerful external forces that demand a unified and courageous response. As a member of the APA Board of Directors and a candidate for president-elect, I believe we must meet this moment together—united and unafraid.

The rapid proliferation of AI chatbots and digital companions claiming therapeutic benefit presents both promise and risk. APA must lead in advancing rigorous research on their effectiveness, limitations, and potential harms, while also serving as a trusted voice to educate the public about their responsible use.

At the same time, we must safeguard APA’s role in accrediting programs that train health service psychologists. Efforts by federal and state actors to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion from education threaten the multicultural competence that is essential to effective care. We must stand firm in defense of these standards.

Equally urgent is the need to protect the scientific foundation of our discipline. Proposals to cut funding at the National Institutes of Health and eliminate the Directorate for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation would cause lasting harm to advancing psychological science. Our practice, applied work, education, and public impact all depend on sustained investment in research.

Finally, we must ensure that graduate training remains accessible and that students pursuing that training are adequately funded—through federal loans, fellowships, and other mechanisms—so that individuals from all backgrounds have an equitable path into psychology.

These challenges are real, but so is our capacity to handle them together. United in purpose and unafraid of the work ahead, we can protect what matters most and ensure a vibrant future for psychology.